When Art Meets Extinction: How the Spell Songs Collective Transforms Ecological Grief into Musical Resistance

The intersection of environmental degradation and cultural loss has long served as a potent catalyst for artistic creation. When elements of the natural world are systematically erased—whether through lexicographical omission or industrial habitat destruction—art frequently steps forward to document the void, offering a physical or auditory memorial to what has vanished. Yet, a distinct category of creators chooses to intervene while this erasure is actively occurring, transforming protest and resistance into dynamic cultural movements. This philosophy anchors the ongoing creative trajectory of Spell Songs, a seven-piece musical collective whose work directly confronts the rapid decline of biodiversity and ecological intimacy in the modern age.

Origins and Evolution of the Project

The genesis of the collective traces back to the 2017 publication of The Lost Words, a collaborative book featuring text by acclaimed author Robert Macfarlane and illustrations by artist Jackie Morris. The volume was conceived as an immediate cultural response to the Oxford Junior Dictionary’s editorial decision to excise various nature-related terms—such as bluebell, acorn, and wren—replacing them with technology-oriented vocabulary like chatroom and broadband. Macfarlane and Morris viewed this lexical contraction not merely as a linguistic update, but as a symptom of a broader societal disconnection from the natural world, specifically targeting plants and animals experiencing alarming population declines.

Recognizing the profound resonance of the book’s message, organizers assembled Spell Songs in 2019 to serve as a musical companion to the literary work. Utilizing a blend of traditional folk instrumentation, contemporary composition, and diverse global musical traditions, the seven-strong ensemble set out to sonically resurrect the omitted species and concepts. Following their initial releases, the collective has expanded its scope to mirror subsequent literary collaborations between Macfarlane and Morris. Their third studio album, In Thin Air, arrives as a direct response to the duo’s latest collaborative endeavor, The Book of Birds, shifting the collective’s primary focus to avian ecology and the historical entanglement of human and bird populations.

Structural Framework and Collaborative Process

In Thin Air draws its structural inspiration directly from The Book of Birds, which is organized around what Macfarlane and Morris categorize as the "Seven Wonders of Bird": nest, egg, beak, song, feather, flight, and migration. Rather than approaching the album as an arbitrary collection of tracks, Spell Songs elected to honor this thematic framework, resulting in a cohesive musical journey that mimics the systemic arcs of avian life.

The creation of the record involved a intensive, week-long residency in Pembrokeshire, Wales, during which the seven musicians convened to write and compose collaboratively. Visual artist Jackie Morris maintained a constant presence in the workspace throughout the residency, painting, observing, and providing immediate visual feedback to the musicians. This cross-disciplinary synergy fostered a distinctive working environment that combined disparate musical backgrounds—ranging from Seckou Keita’s West African rhythmic traditions to Julie Fowlis’s Gaelic vocal styling—into a unified sonic identity.

According to singer and multi-instrumentalist Karine Polwart, this third studio release represents the band’s most advanced synthesis of varied influences. The integration of instrumental soundscapes, incantations, and vocal layering allowed the ensemble to transition from a mere collection of individual solo artists into a cohesive musical entity capable of sophisticated sonic storytelling.

The Intersection of Music, Protest, and Ecology

Within the contemporary landscape of environmental journalism and activism, the role of artistic mediums in communicating ecological urgency remains a subject of considerable discussion among cultural figures. Speaking on the integration of music and protest, Jackie Morris emphasizes the unique mnemonic properties of song. Music, she notes, possesses an enduring capacity to embed ideas deeply within human consciousness, rendering complex ecological realities more accessible and memorable than standard prose or statistical reporting.

While Polwart notes that art does not exclusively emerge from a sense of formal political duty—acknowledging the equal legitimacy of creative works designed for comfort, escapism, or community joy—she underscores the imperative for broader societal engagement. In an economic and political climate characterized by the rapid degradation of ecosystems under late-stage capitalism, both artists view cultural production as an essential form of resistance against systemic apathy.

This resistance is deeply rooted in the historical traditions of folk music. Scottish, English, and Irish folk repertoires feature long-standing lineages of land-connected narratives, shapeshifting creatures, laments of displacement, and explicit songs of dissent. By drawing upon these traditional idioms, Spell Songs bridges historical cultural practices with modern ecological concerns, framing biodiversity loss not as a distant abstract crisis, but as a direct threat to cultural heritage and human identity.

Live Performance Innovation and Visual Artistry

Translating a sprawling, multi-member collaborative project into a live touring format presented considerable logistical and creative hurdles. To incorporate Jackie Morris into the stage performance without disrupting the musical flow, the collective devised an innovative, durational art strategy centered on the theme of migration.

Across seven specific performances, Morris engages in live painting on stage, creating a visual suite consisting of seven distinct portraits of godwits across seven shows, aligning with the album’s structural motifs. This performance art element ensures that the visual and auditory components of the project unfold simultaneously, providing audiences with an immersive, cross-sensory experience that reinforces the thematic gravity of the music.

Physical Media as Economic and Cultural Resistance

The deliberate emphasis on tactile, visual artistry extends to the physical packaging of In Thin Air, which is distributed via Hudson Records on vinyl, standard CD, and a deluxe box set featuring extensive artwork and writing from the entire band.

Polwart is candid regarding the pragmatic and economic realities facing independent musicians in an era dominated by digital streaming platforms. Pointing to the negligible financial returns generated by streaming for all but a tiny fraction of mainstream artists, she characterizes the production of elaborate, high-quality physical books and art objects as a deliberate act of creative resistance. By re-establishing music and its accompanying literature as tangible, valued physical artifacts, the collective aims to counter the ongoing commercial devaluation of independent cultural production.

Broader Implications and Future Outlook

The release of In Thin Air arrives at a critical juncture for global biodiversity, amid mounting scientific warnings regarding widespread avian population declines driven by habitat fragmentation, climate change, and chemical pollution. Projects like Spell Songs demonstrate the capacity of interdisciplinary art to translate empirical environmental data into culturally resonant narratives that foster empathy and ecological awareness.

Through its synthesis of traditional folk idioms, live performance art, and rigorous physical publishing practices, the collective offers a model for contemporary cultural engagement that resists both ecological erasure and the commodification of art. In Thin Air is currently available worldwide through Hudson Records in digital, CD, and vinyl formats, accompanied by ongoing live performances featuring the full ensemble and live painting integration.